Meghan Draudt

EDES 640

Week 3: Field Experience Journal

This week I had the opportunity to interview and observe the ELL specialist at

Cherry Hills Village Elementary, Murielle. Murielle has worked at CHVE for several

years in many different ELL-related roles. In the past, she has been a third grade teacher

and kindergarten teacher at the school. In each grade, Murielles classroom was the ELL

classroom and, therefore, she has experience working with ELL students of many ages.

This year is Murielles second year working as the ELL specialist and, in our discussion,

she described many of the challenges and benefits of this role.

As an ELL specialist, Murielle pushes into the ELL classrooms in each grade.

Murielle explained that CHVE is unique in that ELL specialists work with students in the

classroom, rather than out in the hallway or in a separate classroom. By working with the

class and team teaching, Murielle can function as a teacher known by all students, not

just ELL students. She believes this allows ELL students to feel more apart of the school

and eliminates unnecessary differences in activities and lessons. In each ELL classroom,

Murielle splits the class in half with the grade-level teacher and each group learns the

same lesson, with differences in supports. Murielle mentioned the most important part of

her job is clarifying academic vocabulary when working with these small groups. While

students may be familiar with basic English vocabulary, grade level academic vocabulary

words can be difficult to grasp. Murielle makes sure students first understand the concept

behind the vocabulary word before teaching definitions. Multiple meaning words are

important to clarify as well.

 When working with students, Murielle uses a variety of technology tools. To help

students improve literacy skills, Lexia is used in class. The Lexia program allows

students to work on various reading skills and is individualized based on student

strengths and areas of need. Murielle uses the Lexia data for each student to plan

classroom instruction and fill in reading gaps that are revealed through the program.

Students use the Raz-Kids program to improve reading skills as well. Raz-Kids provides

students with access to interactive ebooks, which are then followed up with short quizzes.

Technology also plays a role in how Murielle teaches lessons. Using the smart board,

Murielle integrates visual supports and Power Points into the content so the students are

able to see an object and associate it with the words they see and hear (Robertson, n.d.).

After my conversation with Murielle, I observed her work as an ELL specialist in

a third grade classroom. The class was working on a science unit concerning matter and

measurements. Murielle worked with half the class on the same experiment, but she

shifted the focus to vocabulary. For example, when making predictions and measuring

liquid in milliliters, many of the academic vocabulary words needed to be reviewed.

Murielle used images, words, and demonstrations to explain key concepts and this

combination seemed to help students understand the activity without the distraction of

big, complicated words. The lesson combined math, science, reading, and writing and,

therefore, Murielle had the opportunity to work on a variety of skills with her group of

students.

References

Robertson, K. (n.d.). Preparing ELLs to be 21st-Century Learners. Retrieved from

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/preparing-ells-be-21st-century-learners